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Goals on the Menu in French Culinary Capital

2016-12-05

The final round of UEFA Champions League group matches is fraught with danger for punters but there is a sound wager to be struck in the Group H game between Lyon and Sevilla.

The equation is this: Lyon must win Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League Group H game by two or more goals or Sevilla will join Juventus in the last 16. So Lyon will not die wondering and Sevilla’s record suggests that the Red and Whites are likely to capitalise on the predicament of their hosts.

Lyon warmed up for its UEFA Champions League Group H home match against Sevilla with a 6-0 French Ligue 1 victory at Nantes. Lyon’s scoring sequence stands at seven games across all competitions since it lost 0-1 at home to Juventus in October. Alexandra Lacazette has scored in five of Lyon’s last seven matches, inflating his asking price yet more.

Like Lyon, the most recent team to shut out Sevilla was Juventus but the difference is that game took place in September. Sevilla has rustled the onion bag in each of its 16 matches across all tournaments, with both sides scoring in 10 of those games. Jorge Sampaoli must watch Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League Group H clash from the stands because of his touchline ban but one does not expect anything less than an attacking performance from Sevilla in France.

The reverse UEFA Champions League Group H fixture resulted in a 1-0 home win for Sevilla but Lyon hit the woodwork on two occasions despite spending much of the match on the back foot. It was amazing that the game produced just one goal.

Several bookmakers, including 888Sport and Unibet, are offering odds of 17/201.85-1180.85-1.180.85 about Lyon and Sevilla hitting the back of the net and that strikes one as a decent play.

Manchester City has kept only one clean sheet in its last 15 matches across all competitions so, with the Citizens having nothing for which to play versus Celtic, one is picking the Bhoys to score at least one goal at the Etihad Stadium.

Locked in to second place on the UEFA Champions League Group C ladder, Manchester City has a date with English Premier League title holder Leicester on which Pep Guardiola may prefer to focus rather than Tuesday’s Battle of Britain.

Celtic’s European adventure is guaranteed to end this week because it is assured of the UEFA Champions League Group C wooden spoon but the Bhoys will be backed by thousands of supporters in Manchester and the reverse fixture did end 3-3. A high-scoring Manchester City win would be one’s forecast if one to bet on the primary market but, with Betfair listing odds of 61/1001.61-1640.61-1.640.61 about Celtic celebrating at least one goal, one likes the exotic.

Finally, Juventus is a few grades better than Dinamo Zagreb and one expects that, with one eye on next weekend’s Italian Serie A derby against Torino, the Old Lady will want to wrap up business versus their Croatian visitors in quick time.

Juventus, which crushed Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 in the reverse UEFA Champions League Group H fixture, is available at odds of 1/21.50-2000.50-2.000.50 with Coral to do the half-time/full-time double. Juventus has booked its berth in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage but the Old Lady must beat Dinamo Zagreb to ensure that they finish top of their preliminary section.

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About The Author

Eric has been sports journalist for over 20 years and has traveled the world covering the top sporting events for a number of publications. He also has a passion for betting, and uses his in-depth knowledge of the sports world to pinpoint outstanding odds and value betting opportunities.